"They bear a striking resemblance to the Manila jeepney, but we also know that they are not the same, because they are lighter, they carry more heft in terms of the kind of passengers that can get into the vehicle, but also that they don't have smoke and there's no sound as well, there's no noise," he told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program.

"It looks the same, but you clearly know that it's not necessarily the Jeepney that people have come to know, the smoke-belching, noise polluting vehicle."

There are currently close to 30 electric jeepneys on the roads, with tens of thousands still to be replaced.

"Commuters have always been very elated in riding the electric Jeepneys, largely because it's been a very pleasant ride," he said.

"It ferries people from one place to another without noise or smoke pollution, it's been a reliable service as well, and mostly, the passengers appreciate the fact that they can enjoy a service that's supposed to be for tomorrow, enjoy them today."

Despite electric vehicles being cheaper in the long-term, Mr Constantino says the up-front costs of transitioning to electric transport has slowed the process.

"We've always said that technology is not the main hurdle for electric transport, it's always been financing," he said.

"We've never advocated for subsidies, what they've asked for is for the banking sector financing institutions, to start opening lending windows, so that small investors or transport operators can begin to shift towards more low carbon transport, and that's been quite slow and that means that anyone who wants to shift to low emission transport or no emission transport have had to deal with up front costs."